Suction cabpet-cleaneb



l. H. GRAHAM.

sucnou CARPET CLEANER.

APPLiCATION FILED AUG- 16- 19!].

Patented July 19, 1921.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

l. H. GRAHAM.

SUCTION CARPET CLEANER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-16- 19!].

Patented July 19, 1921.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

.l. H. GRAHAM.

SUCTION CARPET CLEANER.

APPLICATION man nus. 16. 1911.

1,384,998. ed July 19, 1921.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

J. H. GRAHAM.

SUCTION CARPET CLEANER.

APPLICATION FILED Aus.1e. 19]].

Patented July 19, 1921.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

mm 1 m, or TonnmcToN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- To THE TonmNGToN COMPANY, or TORRINGTON, CONNECTICUT, A Con- POBATION OF CONNECTICUT.

SUCTION CARPET-CLEANER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 19, 1921.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, JAMES H. GRAHAM, a citizen of the United States, residi at Torrington, in the county of Litchfield, tate of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Suction Carpet- Cleaners, of which the following is a description, reference bein had to the accompanying drawing an to the figures of reference marked thereon.

My invention relates to improvements in suction carpet cleaners.

An object of the invention is to provide a suction sweeper in which the bellows are vertically disposed so as to take up less space and allow the operating pitmen therefor to be connected directly thereto and also allowing of the shortenin of the dust chamber and also the widening of the same in a llilousing of the usual height but of less other object of the invention is to provide a sweeper in which the suction nozzle is ivotally mounted and carries a vertically ad1ustable brush, said brush being adjusted from a single point and also providing means whereby a constant pressure is obtained between the drive wheels and the friction rollers on the brush when the brush is in its raised or lowered position.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a sweeper which is simple in operation and construction and having certain details and combination of parts to accomplish the above objects, as will be hereinafter more fully described.

In the accompanying drawings Fi re 1 is a perspective view of the forwar end of a sweeper showing the nozzle locking means and brush adjusting means.

Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of my sweeper showing the nozzle in its elevated position.

Fig. 3 is an enlar ed side elevation of the forward end of t e sweeper.

Fig. 4 is a top plan view showing the rear portion of the housing broken away to show the arrangement of the bellows and the crank and pitman connections for operating the s me.

Fig, 5 is an enlar d perspective view of one end of the brus spindle showing the manner of mounting an adjusting the same the bristles not being shown.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation similar to Fig. 3 showing a portion of the forward friction wheel broken away to show the manner of supporting it so that it will have an even tension on the friction roller of the rotary brush.

Fig. 7 is a bottom perspective view of the forward end of the sweeper to show the spring yoke for supporting the forward supporting wheels.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged perspective view of the bellows, crank and connections in their disassembled relation.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged perspective of the nozzle locking means and the wheel supportmg means in their disassembled relation.

F 1g. 10 is an enlarged diagrammatical View of the drive Wheel and friction roller of the brush showing their relations when in the several adjusted positions.

Fig. 11 is a transverse sectional view of the bufi'er carried by the front of the sweeper, and

Fig. 12 is a perspective view of the buffer showing the several parts in their disassembled relation.

Referring now to the drawings, 1 represents the housing which is of the usual material and provided with the usual handle by means of which the sweeper can be pushed over the surface to be swept. The rear end of the housing has mounted therein a shaft 3, said shaft being rotatably journaled in bearings 4 and 5 carried by the sides 6 and 7 of the housing and has rigidly secured thereon on the inside of the sides of the housing the supporting wheels 8 and 9. The said shaft intermediate the wheels is provided with a series of cranks 10 which, as shown, are three in number to correspond with the number of bellows 11. The bellows, as shown, are vertically dis osed in the housing having their small ends down. Connected to the movable side walls 12 of the bellows are plates 13 provided with cars 14 having rolled outer ends forming bearings for the pins 15 which connect the pitmen 16 to the bellows. The outer ends of the pitmen are split as indicated at 17, having semi-circular grooves 18 forming bearings for the cranks 10 and said split portions are held around the cranks by means of the bolts 20.

The upper ends of the stationary walls 21 the plates 27 and 28 whereby the nozzle 18" tically of square form and has an openlng 24' at the front which communicates with the front end of the main housing.

Within the dust chamber is arranged the dust bag 26 which is well understood and needs no detail description.

The sides 6 and 7 of the housing at the front end have secured thereto the plates 27 and 28 which have at their upper ends the outwardly extending arms 28' which extend some distance beyond the housing and are provided with horizontally arranged slots 29. The vacuum or suction nozzle 30 is of a width equal to the housing and completely covers the front end of the housing. The upper end of the nozzle is provided with plates 31 and 31 having outwardly extending pins 32 passing through the slots 29 in pivotally supported by the housing so that it can be swung upwardly away from the end of the housing so that the dust bag can be removed as shown in Fig. 2 of the draw- 111 5.

Each of the plates 27 and 28 has a lever 33 pivoted thereto and connected to each lever is a hook 34 the outer ends of which hook over studs 35 carried by ,U-shaped plates 36 on the nozzle for drawing it tightly against the outer end of the housing to form a tight oint therewith as shown in Fig. 7 of the drawings. The hooks are so arranged as shown, that the lever passes a center line between its pivot and the stud 35 and thereby the lever cannot be moved by pressure on the nozzle.

The nozzle, as shown, has a slot 37, entirely across its upper end communicating with the dust chamber and also has a slot 38 in its lower face which is surrounded by a rubber or other packing 38 to form a tight fit with the surface being swept and also to prevent the nozzle from injuring the floor. Within the nozzle is an elongated rotary brush 39 which has its trunnions 40 extending out throughvertical slots 41 in the ends of the nozzle and. whereby said brush may be moved vertically. Extending across the front of the nozzle is a yoke 42 which has its ends extending around the ends of the nozzle and spaced some distance therefrom. Rig-idly secured to the inner face of the yok are the plates 43 and 44 which likewise extend around the ends of the nozzles and ar spaced from. the ends of the yoke. The trunnions 40 of the brush 39 extend through both the plates and ends of the yoke and mounted on the trunnions between the same are friction rollers 45 and 46 by means of which the brush is rotated as will be later described. The ends of the yoke have bolts or screws 47 loosely passing therethrough and rigidly secured in the ends of the nozzle and housing and constitute pivots for the yoke whereby it can be rocked for raising and lowering the brush. One end of the nozzle has a plate 48 secured thereto, provided with a rigid outwardly extending screw threaded stud 49 which passes through an elongated slot 50 in the link '51. The link 51 is adjustably held on the stud by the thumb nut 52 and the lower end of the link is connected to the plate 43 on the outside of the pivot 47 so that the raising and lowering of the link rocks the yoke and raises or lowers the brush. By this structure it will be seenthat the brush is raised by a single means thus insuring an equal raising or lowering of both ends of the brush so as to give an even pressure of the brush throughout its length on the surface being swept.

The plates 27 and28 have headed studs 53 extending through openings in their front edges and secured to the housing and upon. which are pivotally mounted the plates 54. The said plates. below their pivoted connection with the housing, are provided with stub axles 55 upon which are mounted the forward anti-friction and brush driving wheels 56 and 57. The lower ends of the plates 54 are provided with slots 57' through which. extend the lugs 58 carried by the plates 27 and 28 which hold the plates 54 against lateral movement and also limit the swinging movement of the plates. Connecting the lower ends of the two plates 54 is a wire loop 59 which extends entirely across the housing below the bottom and is secured thereto by means of the clip 60 as shown in Fig. 7 of the drawings. It will be seen that by the resiliency of the loop 59 the forward drive wheels will at all times have an even pressure on the friction rollers carried by the rotary brush in the nozzle.

The yoke 42 at the proper intervals is provided with slots 61 and covering said yoke is a strip of felt or rubber'62 forming a buffer and said felt or rubber is held on the yoke by U-shape d clips 63 passing through the slots and having their ends pass ing through the slots 61 and turned in opposite directions on the inside of the yoke as indicated at 64, 11. The clips 63 will. embed themselves in the felt or' rubber so that they will not mar or scratch.

The operation of the sweeperis as follows: The housing is rolled on the floor by the handlein the usual .manner which rotates the rear supporting wheels 8 and 9 which operate the shaft 3 and through the medium of the pitmen the bellows are operated to cause a suction or vacuum in the chamber 24 for drawing the dust throu h the nozzle. The forward wheels 56 and 5 are likewise rotated by friction with the floor and engage the friction rollers 45 and 46 and rotate the brush. These wheels being supported by the yoke 59 through the medium of the pivoted plates 54 it w1ll be seen that the more pressure is applied to the handle in a downward direction the greater will be the pressure of the wheels 56 and 57 on the friction rollers 45 and 46 to cause a positive drive of the rotating brush. When it is desired to cause a greater or less pressure of the brush on the floor, the thumb nut 52 is loosened and the link 51 raised or lowered which rocks the yoke 42 on the pivots 47 and the brush being carried by the ends of the yoke beyond the pivot, is then raised or lowered and when properl adjusted, the thumb nut is tightened, hol 'ng the links and locking the brush in its ad usted position. When it is desired to remove the dust the levers 33 are drawn upwardly until the pivotal connection between them and the levers is above the pivot of the levers when the hooked ends may be thrown upwardly from over the studs 35 and the nozzle is then free to swing upward u on the studs 32 into the position shown in ig. 2 of the drawin aving thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A ca t sweeper comprising a housing, side p ates attached to said housing, a brush carrying nozzle pivoted to one of said plates, a lever pivoted to said plates, a second hooked lever pivoted to said lever, a stud carried by said nozzle and engageable by said hooked lever to hold the nozzle tig tly against the housing.

2. carpet sweeper comprising a housing including a vacuum means, a nozzle connected to said housing and communicating with said vacuum means, a brush rotatable in said nozzle and having friction wheels, plates pivotally mounted on said housing, said plates provided with trunnions, friction wheels mounted on said trunnions engaging said first-mentioned wheels, and a spring yoke carried by said plates and connected to said housing whereby to permit the engaging pressure between said friction wheels to vary.

3. A carpet sweeper, comprising a housing, a vacuum means therein, a nozzle carried b the housing and in communication with t e vacuum means, a rotary brush adjustable in the nozzle, means for adjusting said brush, friction rollers carried byl the brush, pivoted plates carried by the ousing, wheels carried by the plates and engaging the friction rollers carried by the brus and a spring yoke connecting the lower ends of the pivoted plates whereby the pressure of the wheels on the rollers is varied.

4. A carpet sweeper comprising a housing, a vacuum means therein, a nozzle carried by the housing, a rotary brush in the nozzle, friction rollers carried by the brush, pivoted plates carried by the housing, wheels carried by the plates and engpgin the friction rollers carried by the brus an a spring metal yoke carried by the hous'gg and connecting the lower ends of the pivo plates whereby the pressure of the wheels on the rollers is varied with the pressure applied to the sweeper.

5. A carpet sweeper comprising a housing, a vacuum means therein, a nozzle carried by the housing, a rotary brush vertically movable in the nozzle and having its trunnions extending beyond the ends of the nozzle, a yoke pivoted to the nozzle and having bifurcated free ends in which the trunnions of the brush are journaled, friction rollers rigidly secured to the trunnions in the bifurcated ends of the yoke, a link connected to the yoke, means for adjustably securin the link to the nozzle whereby the brus is held in its adjusted position and wheels carried by the housing and engaging the friction rollers carried by the brush.

6. A carpet sweeper comprising a housing, a vacuum means therein, a nozzle carried by the housing and in communication with the vacuum. means a rotary brush in the nozzle and vertically movable therein and having its trunnions extending beyond the ends of the nozzle, a yoke plvoted to the nozzle and having bifurcated free ends in which the trunnions are journaled, fric tion rollers rigidly carried by the trunnions in the bifurcated ends of the yoke, a link connected to the yoke, means for adjustably securing the upper end of the link to the nozzle for vertically adjusting the brush, plates pivoted to the sides of the housing, stub axles carried by the plates, wheels mounted on said stub axles and engaging the friction rollers on the brush, an a ring metal yoke connecting the lower en 3 of the plates and connected to the housing whereby the ressure of the wheels on the rollers is varled with the downward pressure applied to the sweeper.

In testimony whereof affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JAMES H. GRAHAM.

Witnesses: I

LESTER J. Ross, E. D. COPELAND. 

